tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298399032017-07-23T03:51:59.749-05:00I Could Eat...An Orlando food writer, restaurant critic, consultant and personal chef answers the age-old question, "Who's hungry?" with an enthusiastic, "I could eat!"hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-42583827987969706472013-10-29T10:07:00.002-05:002013-10-29T10:19:57.773-05:00Darden's New Kid on the Block: Eddie V's in OrlandoA couple of months ago, I was invited to attend a charity media preview of the new Eddie V's in Orlando, an upscale seafood restaurant that lives in the space where Timpano Chophouse used to sit. That being said, we only paid for our alcohol tab (the proceeds of which went to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, Second Harvest Food Bank, and other worthy causes), so please keep in mind that we hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-74464311211380248362013-07-01T21:22:00.000-05:002013-07-01T21:28:12.825-05:00"Kitchen Sink" PaellaThere are a couple of dishes in my repertoire used mainly to clean out the refrigerator.
After working in restaurants and having a refrigerator of my own for quite some time, I've learned that cleaning out the refrigerator is a good idea, but throwing away perfectly good food (perhaps because it's cluttering your space or has just a teeeeeeny tiny bit left in the jar) is not a good idea.
Enter hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-89592969395321994272012-08-16T11:27:00.001-05:002012-08-16T11:27:22.734-05:00Will Cake For WorkIt's been quite a while since I've made a chiffon cake, and it's no secret that I adore them. Actually, I adore anything made with meringue, and chiffon cake is the combination of a simple French meringue and a typical cake batter. Then, they're folded together and baked in a tube pan, which, coincidentally, is my favorite thing to bake in.
My love of all things meringue comes 1.) my love of hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-70970947419540276032012-06-20T09:40:00.002-05:002012-06-20T09:41:31.773-05:00One-Ingredient WondersAll the rumors you've heard are true - food in its natural state tastes good. It's also true that all you need to make something delicious is an ingredient (1!) and a heat source. Here are two of my favorite recipes that just require a food and some heat.
Oven-Dried Strawberries
1 pint of strawberries
An oven
Preheat your oven to its lowest setting - mine was 170-F. Depending on the size of hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-80679800605346844042012-02-28T14:12:00.002-05:002012-02-28T17:03:47.936-05:00Reality Bites: My Favorite Convenience FoodsYes, it's been 1,000 years since I've posted. I realize this. I've come to terms with it. Let's just all move on, shall we?
HAPPY 2012, everyone! 2011 was full of more amazing food and here's to another year of delicious comestibles to come. I'm stoked. I hope you all are too. The food scene in Orlando is booming with lots of fantastic new restaurants (and some not-so-fantastic ones). Some new hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-90754728162086748102011-10-08T23:05:00.002-05:002011-11-25T00:38:21.608-05:00Notable EatsIt's been a while since I've posted. it's not altogether accidental. I made a conscious decision to take a little break from all this craziness for fear of being lumped in with the other food bloggers in Orlando (and there are SO MANY all of a sudden). It's not that they're not fab, because many of them are, it's more to do with the fact that writing about food is my profession, not a hobby, andhollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-89495668055262119092011-08-20T20:41:00.001-05:002011-08-20T20:44:14.417-05:00Art moment: Abandoned Stadium FoodThis is what happens after a 90 minute soccer game.
hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-32622190889950147112011-06-29T13:33:00.000-05:002011-06-29T13:33:01.501-05:00FroYo Claims a VictimRemember Coldstone Creamery? The Moe's of the ice cream world - 1,500 calories stuffed into a single serving? Faux-healthy versions of decadence like "Sinless Sweet Cream" made with Splenda? Sigh.
My favorite Coldstone memory? Being the rebel in my dorm and ordering Irish Cream and Cappuccino flavors in my ultra-Mormon college town where coffee is grounds for damnation. Pun intended.
Coldstone hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-85017361943466142322011-06-26T18:41:00.000-05:002011-06-26T18:41:47.148-05:00Eating Well, Thriving in a New WayWell, I thought I would take the time I had off from working (read: I actually did work, just not in an office, which made it feel way more like fun than it should have been) to blog more, but it just didn't happen.
I was too busy starting my own business (The Gourmet Girl), a home-delivery gourmet dinner service, working freelance as a writer and editor (thanks Orlando Weekly and Tupperware forhollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-88692665470649944282011-05-07T23:17:00.004-05:002011-05-07T23:51:51.514-05:00Funky Monkey's Funeral FoodMy girlfriend, The Sushi Snob, and I went to the opening of the Funky Monkey wine store "Vault" this Friday night, opening just down the street from the original Funky Monkey Wine Company on Mills and Marks St.
Let me tell you something about Funky Monkey: they've grown immensely in a small amount of time. I've eaten at both restaurants, Funky Monkey Wine Company (FMWC) and Bananas: A Modern hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-757636857006413182011-04-27T13:04:00.001-05:002011-04-27T15:05:57.736-05:00Eating the Buzz - Marea, NYC About a year ago, the new chef on the street was Michael White and his baby was an Italian spot in the posh Columbus Circle/Central Park corner. It's name: Marea.
We'd had reservations to eat there the last time we went to the City, but, feeling more sustainable and Greenwich Village, forfeited our reservation to eat at Dan Barber's Blue Hill instead. This time, we made it a point to go for it hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-77244706405021309752011-04-12T11:47:00.001-05:002011-04-12T11:51:00.213-05:00Corn Fritters from Keller's BBQ are So SweetThe great thing about starting a new job is that there's a TON of new restaurants to try. Well, hello, East Orlando. I'd almost forgotten how delicious you are.
Welcome to my new favorite crave. The sweet corn fritters at Keller's BBQ on University and Goldenrod Road in Orlando are oh, so sweet.
These little fritters just scream, "EAT ME! EAT ME NOW!"
And then you do. And it's magical.
The hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-76045931660786069432011-04-04T12:35:00.000-05:002011-04-04T12:35:41.678-05:00Cake Pops Gone CorporateI'm not sure when this happened, but Starbucks has finally jumped on the mini-dessert wagon, leaving their 490 calorie Iced Lemon Pound Cake crying in its 23 grams of fat.
Now, Starbucks has three varieties of cake pops (the dessert that took the food world by storm in 2009) in (from left to right) Rocky Road, Tiramisu, and Birthday Cake, as well as red velvet whoopie pies (the state dessert of hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-20010862031997628242011-04-04T09:11:00.000-05:002011-04-04T09:11:32.469-05:00Jimmy Hula's Fish Tacos: Not Yet Well Seasoned
Don't eat these. Seriously.
The gas money to Cocoa is worth it.
They've only been open three weeks, but Jimmy Hula's Fish Tacos, Burgers and Beer had enough buzz around it that I thought it would a be a remedy for my fish taco hankering.
My Cliff and I usually head out to Cocoa Beach at times like these when the breeze blows at a few knots and all we really want is a Landshark Lager. The Sandhollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-18222818733779419032011-03-17T08:48:00.001-05:002011-03-17T08:49:34.526-05:00Big Wheel Provisions Food Truck at College Park Farmers Market
Photo courtesy of Orlando Weekly
Tony Adams and Tim Lovero, chef/owners of Big Wheel Provisions have been toying with the idea of opening a food truck for a while, and his dreams have finally rumbled up to the corner of Washington and Orange Ave in downtown Orlando in the afternoons as of yesterday.
Bringing his local, farm-raised fare to the streets, Tony joins the arepas truck, the crepe guyhollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-91186437179619987322011-03-15T11:16:00.002-05:002011-03-15T12:03:04.329-05:00The New Cupcake
Photo courtesy of SteamyKitchen
I called it - pie is the new cupcake. You thought cake pops were cute; have you seen these adorable pie pops?
I can't wait to make them this summer with fresh blueberries and blackberries from the U-pick place next to my parents' house in Webster, Florida.
Orlando got its first cupcake place, Bluebird Bake Shop on Corrine Dr. last year, and I'm just waiting forhollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-49682861004310850242011-02-17T11:00:00.000-05:002011-02-17T11:00:59.791-05:00James Beard Awards Finalists: FloridaIt's James Beard Foundation Awards season again, and the semi-finalists for the Restaurants and Chefs category were announced this week.
It's the Oscars of the food world, so as many film buffs tend to hold marathons to watch the films nominated for Best Picture, I'm going to attempt to eat at all the Florida-nominated restaurants for Best Chef - South before the awards ceremony and gala on May hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-53581603765438990282011-02-06T16:32:00.001-05:002011-02-06T16:53:43.173-05:00Good Eating in Key WestPicture blog time! It's been about a month since I was in Key West, and I've finally had time to "digest" my time there. I ate some wonderful food and some seriously disappointing food, too. Here we go. I'll describe as we go along.
As part of the Flavors of Key West dinner, we chose a prix fixe menu at Banana Cafe, a French resto on Duval St. The dinner was lovely; I've heard the breakfast is hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-76011654284479700442011-01-10T15:25:00.000-05:002011-01-10T15:25:36.949-05:00A Meal With a View: Louie's Backyard
The view from Louie's Backyard, from Dining Out Key West
Ever since I met Norman Van Aken, I've wanted to eat at the place where Floribbean cuisine was invented and the phrase was coined: Louie's Backyard in Key West.
To say that the place is beautiful would be an understatement. It's breathtaking, and one of the most beautiful spots on the island. The restaurant is a big, open Key West hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-31657104316736072982011-01-09T14:49:00.000-05:002011-01-09T14:49:02.103-05:00Key West Literary Seminar: Reflections on Session 1 PanelsMost of you know that I'm attending The Hungry Muse, a food literature-themed seminar in sunny, breezy, cool Key West. It's a beautiful time to be down here, with jasmine in the air and a bicyle with a basket. Even if I didn't make my living as a writer (lucky me), it would be a wonderful excuse to leave the confines of my coporate cubicle to spend a few days reading, writing and listening to thehollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-13890991588272872312011-01-03T19:39:00.001-05:002011-01-03T19:42:39.685-05:00Everything's Better Avec BeurreHappy 2011, readers! I wish you all the greatest and most delicious eating experiences throughout the year.
I always struggle with what to make that's super special on New Years Day. By then, we're all sick of the glazed hams and roast turkey (full disclosure: we didn't have either of those this year) from Thanksgiving and Christmas, cranberry sauce seems superfluous and I can't eat another bitehollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-57293672210119318752010-12-28T16:48:00.000-05:002010-12-28T16:48:16.139-05:00Mise en Place for 2011My last post was in October, and the subject matter was totally indicative of how my life has gone since. Unbelievable excess and full-till-bursting, and then a huge THUD when I reached the bottom of my stress, moving into survival mode with time for nothing other than the essentials. But! Never fear, readers. I'm back. This food blog has been my "exercise writing" since 2006, and I don't intend hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-39179496935738782982010-10-18T13:21:00.001-05:002010-10-18T13:26:07.543-05:00English Lessons: WDW Food & Wine Classic
Last weekend, we (my Cliff, my chef friend Jen, and I) were invited to attend the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic, aka: the food festival with the longest name in the history of food festivals.
﻿
Tuna tartare "nachos" with sriracha aioli
﻿
This is the first year of the event, and it's definitely not going to be the last. We had a wonderful time eating and drinking for hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-10747560044864371982010-09-08T09:27:00.001-05:002010-09-08T09:30:19.690-05:00Put This On Everything: Sweet Chili SauceThere's a new condiment in town. He's sweet, he's fiery and he's ready for all the food you can put him on. He's sweet chili sauce, and he's in it for the action.
Photo courtesy of Sweet Sensation
I rarely blog about specific sauces, but this particular condiment is a real favorite. Sweet chili sauce is a Southeast Asian wonder. Combining my three favorite characteristics of SE Asian food (hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29839903.post-23115422119252509232010-08-24T13:51:00.000-05:002010-08-24T13:51:17.377-05:00Fowl, Figs and French CheeseIt's raining in Orlando, and the cooler air is moving in after weeks of 105-degree days. I've been getting excited for Fall during the past few weeks, dreaming about wild mushroom risotto, butternut squash tagines and all the earthy and delicious things that the new season will bring. Mind you, I'm not trying to push summer away with its squash and tomato bounty that I've feasted on without hollywoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13262243082001795758noreply@blogger.com1